July 5, 2011

7:30 am:
I need to find a better pattern to doing this blog thing. I think I'll open up a post each morning, add to it as the day goes, and publish it in the evening. That way I'll get the whole day's events on one post, by date. Suggestions for a different way are welcomed!

Yesterday evening, I noticed that Reilly had developed a swelling between his shoulder blades. It hadn't been there when he got a bath earlier. At first I thought it was where his microchip had gone in, and that he was developing an abscess. After looking and some thought...and finding the chip about two inches further back...I realized it had to be from his recent vaccinations. Should be fine, but it did give me a turn. He's got his first puppy check with my vet this morning.

He had a good night last night. Not one peep out of him, and although he was awake at 5:30 when I went to see, he wasn't in a hurry. Still, I took him out to potty and then cleaned up his papers from the night. One accident off the paper and that was it. Good puppy. He's decided he likes his crate after all. He's moved several toys back in, and alternates between sleeping inside or stretched out elsewhere. I take the gate to the mudroom down during the day, so he can spend time with everyone. He does like to come lie on the kitchen floor, but he's not sure what the rules are about where else he can go yet. I took up the Persian rug in the living room as carpet is easily confused as a texture appropriate for a bathroom area. It's just easier to take it up for a while until he gets comfortable going out.

12:24 pm:
The vet visit went well. Did a double check on fecal, since the puppy fecals of the litter were pretty much community fecals rather than each individual pup, which is usual with litters. No nasties found. Physical checked out good. The vaccine swelling we'll work on with hot/cold packs and massage so it doesn't form a scar tissue pad. And Doc checked what tests and exams the breeder requires done and made notes so we get those done on the proper time scale.

After we brought Reilly home and he pottied, Syd and I ran to Wal-mart for a baby gate and a few other things. The door blocker board we've always used for the Boys works very nicely...from one side. But while I was in the shower this morning, they knocked it down. It could have hurt someone. A baby gate will be hard for me to use, but it will be safer. I had to get a plastic one, as the good ones have pressure bars that I can't use at all. And I don't want one that must be mounted. It won't be needed that long. We came home from that short trip, took Reilly out to potty again, then came back in. No accidents!

I like having him bedded down in the mudroom, as he's easy to hear. He likes the room, and goes there voluntarily to sleep, although we'll make him another bed in our room once he's house trained. Today he's taken to whimpering when he gets up, and I run him outside real quick. I'm not sure if that's his intent, or if he's just looking for company, but the end result is the same. Few indoor accidents during the day, and more positive reinforcement for going outdoors. He gets lots of petting and fussing over when he goes outside, and just ignored if he goes inside. He likes the getting fussed over bit more than being ignored. It worked nicely on our other two, so I have no reason to expect otherwise for him. I've attached bells to the doors and ring them before going out. Murphy will ring a bell to go out if one is available, and with three dogs now, bell training makes sense. It also will start him in understanding cause-and-effect, which will be helpful.

6:30 pm:
It's been a good day. Reilly is a funny little character. He bounces so fast between active puppy to sound asleep. He's quite the cuddler, too. And he will lick every inch of your face twice over before he gets tired of it, but he's not very prone to nibbling or chewing. I left my barn shoes where he can get them, just like I did with Murphy and Jake. They are the most interesting of all shoes, and if I can discourage him from chewing them up, then pretty much all shoes are safe. He stole one shoe and stashed it in his kennel, but did not chew on it. I took it back out, gave him the, "This is not your shoe." line and replaced it with the other one. He has not touched it since. We'll how many times I have to tell him.

One wonderful thing about mastiffs is that they learn pretty quickly. And once they understand what the rules are, they follow them pretty hard. The key is getting them to understand the same set of rules you do! For example, Murphy knows full well that all the eggs in the nestboxes in the henhouse are not his. I could lock him in with the chickens all day, and he wouldn't dream of touching an egg. However, let some fooish bird lay an egg elsewhere, and he is quite sure that particular egg belongs to him. Quite sure. He knows the rules: Eggs in the proper place are for the people. Eggs somewhere else are his. The rules according to Murphy. So when training Reilly, I need to make sure that he understands the rules the same way I do. We'll see how simple it really is.

I learned today that when you post multiple photos, they appear in reverse order. I'm sure I could fix that, when I get around to looking more closely at the sequence of it. Or not. I'll be trying it out on pictures from here soon!

Meg and Reilly